How often do community members receive help from police? How often do community members hate on police? How often do you ask yourself these questions? It has come to my attention that police are judged unfairly by a grand amount of people. Being a 14 year old living in Oakland has treated me to multiple encounters with police.

Over the course of the past few weeks, I have done a lot of research on police, including interviewing community members for their perspective on the police. After all of this, I have come to believe that police officers do more good for Oakland than they cause harm to Oakland.

Although police do in fact make mistakes, some of their actions include reaching out to the community in form the of providing charity for their community. While doing research I found a foundation started by a former Oakland police officer. Their mission is “to promote public safety by supporting and providing critical resources for the Oakland Police Department and engaging community organizations and citizens as partners in support of our police officers and their work” (Oakland Police Foundation). Like I said, the organization was created by an Oakland police officer for not only officers, but the community as a whole. This organization’s mission strengthens police-community relations because it’s literally bringing the OPD and community organizations/citizens together while promoting public safety. Apart from reaching out to the community in this manner, OPD reaches out to young children and surprises their families during the holidays. On an online news source, I found the following quote, “One mom told KTVU at first she thought she was getting pulled over and was going to get a ticket, but she was pleasantly surprised when her kids received gifts” (KTVU). This annual OPD tradition is a way to surprise and make the community happy. It is a great act for the OPD to do because, with all of the crime, cruelty, and corruption in the world, it’s truly a beautiful act. These examples prove that OPD brings more good than harm into the community because they are reaching out trying to support their community.

Not only do police provide charity for their communities, they help at events within their communities. Police promote community wellness and opportunities for the community to unite in a healthy/positive manner. For instance, every year a block party is hosted by community and police. Last year, it was hosted at Lake Merritt in Oakland on the 2nd of August. ABC 7 news, a local news source writes, “This comes at a time when tension is high between many people and police. This is the 33rd National Night out. Police say every year they gain insight into the needs and concerns of the community” (abc7 news). Police organizing an event that gives police and citizens the opportunity to gain insight about one proves that OPD is doing good in the community because they are willing to listen to the community and better themselves by embodying the community’s ideal police. Also, Oakland Police ensured runner’s safety when they issued street closings and parking restrictions so that the first Oakland marathon could be made possible. This shows that Oakland police make an effort to help out at community events. I went around and asked multiple Oakland citizens (from diverse backgrounds) the following question, “What can Oakland police do to improve their connection with the community?”. Some of the responses I was given included, “They can try to get more involved with the community by holding events for families”, “At least get people in there that care about the city”, “Instead of having police drive around, have them walking around within the community so that they can act as a member of a community vs a person just patrolling” (anonymous). In sum, Oakland citizens would agree that police should be more integrated within their community so that they can truly build connections with community members.

Some may say that police hurt communities more than they help them because police are so bad they have gotten to a point in which nothing can fix the relationship the police have with the community. However, I do believe that it is possible to repair the damage police have done to the community because police are people too. In fact, in one of my interviews with UC Berkeley and Columbia University graduate, Rodrigo Sandoval, I asked the following question:“Do you think police are kind to citizens?” He responded, “I think for the most part. I actually think it comes from fear. I can be driving and if a cop pulls up behind me, I immediately ask myself if I did anything wrong” (Sandoval). His thoughts on police relations with the community are similar to mine and those of most people which proves that the connection between community members and the police is very weak. Being afraid of the people keeping one’s community “safe” is not an ideal situation to be in. In order to reassure a community of their safety, the community must trust in the charities and opportunities police hand out.

To conclude, police do more good in the community than they do bad because…

Police promote public safety

Police ask for input of community through community events

Police donate to youth

Police have opportunities for funding

I would like to thank you for reading about my opinion and research. With a perspective, I am Fernando Sevilla.

Hey Fernando,
I have always been skeptical about police officers and how well of a job they are doing. Of course there are some bad apples in the bunch but I completely agree that they signed up to benefit the community, never take it down. I really like how you brought up organizations and how some are created by police officer, but it’s for the entire community to come together and not just police officers. I absolutely loved how you brought up the kids getting gifts when their mother was pulled over and she assumed she was getting a ticket. Whenever being pulled over you always think to yourself, what did I do or I knew I shouldn’t have done that. So the fact that a police officer took the time to just hand out gifts after sounding off his sirens really reduced the thought of police men and women “always one the hunt for their next paycheck.”

I am amazed by your post “‘Normal’ People?” because it is a new perspective on how police are seen. I respect you for being so confident and sharing your opinion. One sentence you wrote that stands out for me is: “Although police do in fact make mistakes, some of their actions include reaching out to the community in form the of providing charity for their community.” I think this is enlightening because it gives me a new interpretation of our oakland police. Your post reminds me of something that happened to me. One time I walked by a police car. I felt scared. Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next, because It is enlightening. Something that will bring me back to your writing is really anything because it’s good. Love Abraham. 😀

Deer Abraham,
Thank you for your reply to my post. I appreciate you empathetic feelings toward my opinion. I very much agree with you that the line you highlighted was indeed, enlightening. I am sorry to hear that you have felt unsafe while just walking by a police car. Your story seems really interesting. I hope that in a few years your feelings when you walk past police cars change. Why do you think you were scared when walking past the police cars?
Love,
Fernando

Dear Fernando:
I am happy with what your post, “Normal People” because it explains the good side of the OPD in Oakland and how they create charities for community members. I also really enjoyed it because you said how sometimes mistakes are made and fear is created, but if we give police a chance, they are really nice. I also loved how you tried to express the good side of cops. Thanks for your writing. I look forward to reading your next post! Your ideas and mindset are those of a professional journalist of seeing both sides of the coin.
Sincerely, Alexis

Dear Alexis,
Thank you for replying to my post “Normal People”. I am very thankful for your feedback. I think that Oakland police are often not credited for the good actions they do for people. I would have loved to hear about your own stories. What are your opinions on police? How do you think we can get rid of the police phobia? I hope to hear back from you in the future, writer.
Fernando

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